The man who caused a crash that sent Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders to the hospital in April 2023 was sentenced Wednesday to three months in jail for vehicular assault.
He is additionally ordered to serve 12 months on probation, undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and complete all recommended treatment.
Zachary Roberge, 32, was convicted by a jury on Feb. 25. He was acquitted on one count of driving under the influence, but found guilty on one count of vehicular assault while under the influence of any drug.
The charge is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Due to Roberge’s lack of any criminal history prior to this case, the standard sentencing range was set at 3 to 9 months.
All parties — including Sanders himself — asked for Roberge to receive little to no jail time for the offense.
“I'd really like to see him move forward and progress through life, and I'm hoping, it’s my hope, that he can use this experience as a way to help educate,” Sanders told the court during Roberge’s sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 25. “For me, every single person who could be rehabilitated and go through that treatment process just becomes an educator for us out on the roadways about the very real dangers of impaired driving, and so my hope is that he'll be an ally in that moving forward.”
Roberge was driving a red Ford Ranger pulling a trailer eastbound on 153rd Avenue Southeast at a T intersection with Lawrence Lake Road Southeast near Yelm in Thurston County at about 3:30 p.m. on April 2, 2023.
Roberge had used methamphetamine the night before, and a jury has since ruled that Roberge was still under the influence when he was driving on April 2.
He failed to notice the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office patrol car driven by Sanders approaching the same intersection southbound on Lawrence Lake Road Southeast, and pulled out into the intersection to make a left turn onto Lawrence Lake Road Southeast.
Sanders attempted to swerve behind the Ford, but struck the trailer.
He was ultimately extricated from the patrol car and airlifted to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries. Roberge was not injured.
While Sanders made a full recovery, he said Wednesday that the crash has left him with some lingering anxiety over driving.
“Anytime someone's pulling up to a T intersection, I can feel that blood rush to my face preparing for impact, because I don't know if they're going to stop or not,” Sanders said. “It has certainly heightened my awareness around driving and the very real dangers that we all face.”
He said that his biggest hope for the outcome of this case is that Roberge is never again involved in a DUI-related crash.
“My only request is that the court try to impose as much as they can in terms of treatment. All that I really care about at this point in time is that we have one less person on this planet who's ever going to drive impaired,” Sanders said.
In the two years since the crash, Roberge has already made progress in addressing his addiction and taking accountability in his life, according to several character witnesses who spoke to the court on Wednesday.
“I think with accountability and treatment, I think he would do us all proud, and Sheriff Sanders proud, and be an advocate in this community,” a friend of Roberge said.
Addressing the court before his sentencing, Roberge said he dreaded the possibility of going back to jail after he posted bail early on in his case, and that he wants to do right by his wife and his young son.
“Even at the last court date, he came up to me and he asked me if I was going to jail, and that broke my heart,” Roberge said.
Visiting Judge Kevin Hull of Kitsap County, who handled Roberge’s case after Thurston County judges recused themselves, ultimately granted Roberge the lowest prison sentence he could legally give.
Hull cited Sanders’ testimony and his wish that this be a learning experience for Roberge as a reason for the low sentence.
“He’s clearly indicated he's not interested in having you in jail for longer than necessary, and he's to be respected for that, because he was the one that was most harmed by this,” Hull told Roberage before delivering his sentence on Wednesday.
Hull said Roberge was fortunate that neither he nor Sanders suffered any long term serious injuries from the collision. Roberge is doubly fortunate, Hull said, that he has the support of his community.
While several people spoke to Roberge’s good character, Hull said that has little impact on the sentence he can give.
“I'm hearing, and I believe, that you're a good person, you work hard, you're trustworthy.
And so I don't doubt any of those qualities, but the jury wasn't tasked to decide whether or not you're a good person or not. That's not what the jury does. They decide whether a particular act was committed, and they made that determination,” Hull said.
He added that Roberge’s meth usage around the time of the crash was troubling given the fact that he had a young child at home.
“Those things have a way of catching up with you, and I think they caught up with you in this circumstance, and I think you probably understand that now,” Hull said.
In addition to jail time and required treatment, Roberge is required to pay $2,500 in fees and a yet-undetermined amount of restitution.
Roberge was not in custody as of Wednesday afternoon. He is required to report to the Thurston County Jail by 4 p.m. on April 22 to serve his jail sentence.
